


Midnight Talk

by Jeremy_the_Guy



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Gravity Falls
Genre: Gravity Falls Oregon, Gravity Falls Spoilers, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:55:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25586299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeremy_the_Guy/pseuds/Jeremy_the_Guy
Summary: In the wake of their hectic gnome-related adventure, Dipper and Mabel share their thoughts about what they've just been through.
Kudos: 4





	Midnight Talk

To say that Dipper was exhausted would have been an understatement. But then again, when the day just gone involved trying to rescue your sister, and running for you life as a big part of it, tiredness was to be expected. Yet as he lay there in the safety and comfort, or at least a rough approximation of the latter, of his and Mabel's room in the attic, his mind just couldn't let him doze off. Too many thoughts were passing through his head, and his memories of what just happened today were at the forefront of it. Every strange thing he'd seen, every moment of danger he and his twin had been through, he just couldn't stop thinking about it, and honestly, who could blame him? Turning, he reached over and took hold of his latest attire, the blue and white hat his great-uncle had let him have. He smiled as he felt the fabric, silently musing on how good a fit it was for him, but then that smile faded as his eyes drifted again, this time resting on the other recent acquisition he'd found for himself. The mysterious journal. Taking it into his hand, he looked upon the shimmering hand on its face, letting out a quick sigh. "Who were you?"

"Penny for your thoughts?" a familiar voice said to him.

Dipper's smile returned as he looked over to Mabel, who was looking to him with no small amount of amusement. "Trouble sleeping?" he asked.

Mabel giggled briefly. "Nah, too excited to sleep. I've had a great day, I've got my grappling hook," a point she emphasised by suddenly whipping out the weapon in question and hugging it tightly. "And I'm sure tomorrow's gonna be a great day, just like today was!"

To that, Dipper frowned. "Mabel, you were kidnapped by gnomes and nearly forced into marriage with them."

Putting her hook aside, Mabel gave a quick shrug. "Sure, there's that, but the rest was all so exciting! I thought being out here in this dirty old shack was gonna be the most boring thing ever, but look what we've done since we got here!"

It was a point that Dipper, if only reluctantly, had to concede to. "Yeah...good point." But his gaze soon turned to the book again, and his frown understandably returned. "And I bet we're gonna have a whole load more before this summer is over."

Normally a statement like that might have excited Mabel further, but she could sense the worry in her brother's voice, and she looked to him with equal concern. "Still thinking about who wrote that?"

A small nod from Dipper, but he kept his eyes on the cover as he spoke. "Think about it, Mabel. This author, whoever they were, they knew everything that was going on out here. The gnomes, the strange stuff in the forest, they knew it all. And nobody here knows a single thing about it. They all just think it's local legend or hoaxes, like Grunkle Stan. This writer...something happened to them. You don't just put all this effort into documenting this stuff and just...disappear."

Mabel cracked a sly smirk. "Well, from the looks of things, they were probably pretty weird themselves." When she saw her brother look to her with confusion, she elaborated by pointing to the book herself. "Six fingers?"

Dipper took a moment to look to that abnormal cover, then to his own hand, before letting out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, good point." The smile faded again. "But still, there's no denying that we've found ourselves in a dangerous place." He turned to look to his sister once more. "You've felt it, right? This whole forest, this whole town, that there's something...off about it."

Mabel looked out of the window, which was still completely shattered from her earlier use of the hook, and started to look a touch worried herself. "Yeah...I guess. I mean, as fun as it was seeing all those gnomes get what was coming to them, it was pretty scary getting captured by them." Slowly, she cast a quick glance to her brother. "I know I said I was sorry before, but...I'm still sorry I didn't listen to you about that."

Dipper afforded her a warm smile. "Hey, it's no problem. We got out of it, and that's the important thing."

Mabel returned the smile, but then held herself as she started to shiver. As her gaze turned again to the broken window, she started to chuckle nervously. "Guess I maybe should be more careful about my hook in future, eh?"

Dipper, who himself was starting to shiver, matched her chortle. "Yeah, maybe."

Despite the amusing moment between the two, it wasn't long before Mabel started to look worried again. "Do...do you think we maybe oughta call Mom and Dad? Tell them this place isn't safe?"

The look on Dipper's face, the way he creased his brow in deep thought, gave away immediately that he'd been thinking much the same thing. But after almost a full minute of considering it, he shook his head. "Nah. Besides, if we just tell them we're worried because of a bunch of gnomes, they'd either say we were crazy or just making stuff up to get out of being here."

The two shared a laugh, with Mabel planting her head back onto her pillow shortly afterwards. "Yeah, probably." She started staring at the ceiling, her mind adrift. "Wonder what they're doing right now? Maybe they've got some super-special or romantic getaway planned? Maybe on a beach?"

Hearing that, Dipper snorted. "Nnnnnnnope, that's a negatory. They'll try for that, sure, but then they'll get there, the weather will be nothing but rain, Dad will have forgotten to take any of the beach supplies with them, then Mom will give him 'the look' for having done that, after which they'll go to some cheap beach cafe or something for a couple of cups of tea, then go back to a hotel and make up by watching some cheesy old love movie together."

Mabel looked to him, clearly impressed. "Wow. I mean, they'd do exactly that, but still, wow."

Dipper, just for this one moment, reached over to grab his hat just so he could put it on and tip it to her. "What can I say? I know them pretty well by this point."

But as funny as that was to Mabel, she started looking a touch down moments afterwards. "Speaking of love, I can't believe my first boyfriend was such a total jerk."

Putting his hat back, Dipper looked to her with sympathy, but also a degree of incredulity. "He was lying to you about what he was and was secretly trying to get you to marry thousands of tiny, little, creepy, old guys. I'd say 'jerk' is a pretty big understatement there, Mabel."

It was the truth, Mabel knew it, but it didn't make her feel any better. "I know. I just wish my first had been...better."

Dipper softened immediately afterwards. "Hey, don't worry about it. You'll find someone special, eventually."

Mabel looked to him, smiling. "You think so?"

Dipper nodded firmly. "I know so. "I mean, sure, you can be kinda...out there. But I'm sure any guy would be lucky to have you."

Mabel blushed, weaving him off. "Oh shush." Then another sly look came to her. "And who knows? Maybe you'll find true love here too?"

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Nice thought, but unlike you I don't plan on finding romance out here, especially since I have bigger fish to fry at this point." He patted the still-nearby book, making clear what he intended to do this summer.

But Mabel was unconcerned, pointing to him. "Trust me, brother. One day you'll find the girl of your dreams, her hair waving in the wind, and you'll totally fall for her," she snapped her fingers, "just like that!"

Dipper chuckled. "Yeah, never gonna happen."

Mabel folded her arms, letting out a quick huff. "Hmph! Well, let the record show, that if you do end up falling for someone, I have full licence to tease you all summer about it."

Dipper matched her sly expression. "I'd be disappointed in you if you didn't."

Though the two might have laughed together again after that, they were kept from doing so by the timely sound of an owl screeching in the distance. The twins turned, looking out of the window, perhaps in thew hopes of seeing the predatory bird. But alas, all they saw was the darkened forest, the trees gently rustling in the cool midnight air. "Creepy or not...this is still a pretty great place to be," Mabel considered.

Slowly, Dipper nodded in agreement. "Yeah...it's something alright. If you don't take into account all the deadly phenomenons and potential monsters out there ready to cause havoc."

Mabel clapped her hands together. "Oh! If there are gnomes out there, then maybe there's fairies! Or unicorns! Or some big, scary dragon that a handsome knight will have to rescue me from!"

Though always amused at his sister's romantic musings, Dipper again reached for the journal, quickly flipping through the pages. "Well, no mention of dragons in here, but if we find some maybe I'll write in a chapter of my own."

Mabel grinned widely to him. "Dipper Pines, supernatural investigator extraordinaire!" she said with a flair worthy of a game-show host.

Closing the book again, Dipper arched an eyebrow to her. "Kinda sound like Grunkle Stan there, sis."

Mabel giggled quickly, then laid her head upon her pillow again. "Oh, he's not so bad once you get used to him. A bit shifty, sure, but he's got a good heart." She shrugged. "Besides, our parents wouldn't have sent us out here to be with him if he wasn't a good guy, right?"

Dipper sighed, resting against his own pillow. "I guess. But he's also, you know, a con-man? It kinda goes with the territory for him to have a bunch of stuff on the sly, you know?"

Mabel looked to her brother with clear and obvious doubt. "Okay, I know you've got into this whole 'trust nobody' thing, but he's family. You can always trust family."

Slowly, Dipper smiled to her. "I trust you, Mabel."

Mabel was taken aback by the unexpectedly heartwarming statement her brother had just uttered, but it wasn't long before she recovered, mirroring his smile. "And I trust you." A moment passed, and then she continued. "And also Grunkle Stan. And also Soos, since he's so funny. Oh, and we can't forget Wendy since she's pretty cool and let you have the golf cart and stuff..."

Dipper listened as she kept on adding to her list of trustworthy people in her life, and though he might have wanted to point out how dangerous it was to trust just about everyone she came across, as today's events clearly proved, he just didn't have the heart. Not now, when she was clearly so happy about it all. Instead, he turned so he was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. The air was still cold thanks to his sister's new favourite weapon, and so he pulled his covers back onto himself to keep warm. While Mabel kept speaking, his mind was adrift, again thinking on all the possibilities of being in a strange place like this. The two of them had already found out about the existence of gnomes, and if one thing from the journal was right, then what else could be? Could the undead, as he'd once suspected, be out there too? Just what kind of situation had he and Mabel found themselves in? Whatever the case, it was officially at this point that tiredness finally came to him in force, and he let his eyes close. "Goodnight, Mabel."

Mabel, hearing her brother, stopped her trust-list and smiled to him, getting comfortable in her own before before speaking back. "Goodnight, Dipper."

And Dipper, mere moments afterwards, cracked one eye open, letting it drift towards the open window and the forest beyond. "Alright, Gravity Falls...let's see what you've got in store for us."


End file.
